Good evening everyone, and welcome to the first Annual General Meeting of the Alnmouth Arts Festival Community Interest Company.
It’s lovely to see you here as we gather to reflect on what has been another successful year for the Arts Festival. Our 2024 event was a huge success, drawing in many visitors and creating an enjoyable, vibrant weekend for all involved. The community spirit was alive and well, and we couldn’t be prouder of how the festival came together.
The hard work in becoming a Community Interest Company has paid off and we hope the transition has been seamless and works well for the village, helping to support local artists and creatives by providing a well attended festival at which they can exhibit and sell their work, and by awarding grants on an annual basis to those who apply to the CIC.
Looking ahead, we’re already making exciting plans for our upcoming 20th anniversary festival. We’re aiming to make it even bigger, better, and more fun than ever before, and we’re confident it will be another fantastic celebration of creativity and community. After the productive community interest meeting held last November, we took on board what local people had to say and suggest for the 2025 festival. We will be holding another consultation in the autumn of 2025.
We’re also pleased to share that, despite starting with zero pounds in our bank account last March, we’ve been able to set aside £2,000 this financial year to award grants to local artists. This is just the beginning, and we’re excited to support the incredible talent in our community.
In addition, we received a £1,000 grant from the Northumberland Community Chest Fund, which has been used to pay towards new exhibition boards for the festival. This investment will help us present local art in even more professional and impactful ways.
We are very grateful to The Alnmouth Burgage Holders who have made a generous donation which will be used to replace the old and rather worn lollipop venue signs.
Finally, a big thank you to committee member Nick Mattlock who raised an amazing £750 from his recent Magnificent Seven talk. Everyone enjoyed it, I certainly learned a lot, and the money raised will go a long way towards venue hire costs.
None of this would have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our committee members and the volunteers who year after year turn out in all weathers to help. A huge thank you to each one of you for your time, effort, and commitment to making this festival a reality.
We look forward to working together to continue building on our success in the coming years. Thank you all for being here and for supporting the Alnmouth Arts Festival.
Helen Holden
CIC Director, Chair of Alnmouth Arts Festival Committee